Sure Bet
by KalliopeKore
Summary: Dwarf nicknames…a betting ring….a stalker – never a dull moment. John realizes he has feelings for Jen just as she finds herself in danger. John/ Jen
1. Chapter 1

_A/N - This is my first attempt with this pairing, but I've been in the mood to write again and this is the plot bunny that beat the others to the page. Appreciate feedback, comments, or just knowing you are reading. Hope you enjoy._

* * *

Ronon walked the halls with Sheppard. A quiet week off world. A quiet week on Atlantis. Seemed like an odd thing to complain about, though – a week of missions with no injuries and no Wraith, so he kept it to himself. He was glad to have a training session on the schedule that afternoon to distract him. And he and Teyla were going to match bantos rods that night, so he would get some work in.

Sheppard had nothing but paperwork waiting for him back in his office. IOA paperwork: his least favorite kind, as he had repeated six times in the last hour. When Ronon mentioned that he had a session with Dr. Keller, John decided to swing by and say hello.

"How is she doing with the training?" John asked.

Ronon shrugged his shoulders.

"She's not very strong, but good balance. Smart. Works hard. Takes a while to get a move, but once she picks it up it stays with her. She's never gonna beat me, but she'll surprise someone. Don't bet against her."

Ronon threw the door to the gym open to find Jennifer already stretching out. Looked like she might have recently finished a run, too. He could tell her endurance was steadily increasing. He took that as a sign she was taking the training seriously. He wasn't sure when she fit it into her schedule – she was in the infirmary constantly.

She stood up from the mat where she had been stretching and turned to face the wall. She was listening to music; earbuds in her ear and the faint tin of music bleeding over into the room. Still a little oblivious to her surroundings. She put her foot on the wall and leaned with her forearms flush to the cool surface to stretch her calf muscles.

Ronon kept his distance. When he got there too early she tried to make him stretch, too. Always a doctor.

Hanging on the other side of the room near the door he looked over to ask John a question. Sheppard was deep in thought about something, and watching Jennifer as her head occasionally bobbed side to side in time to the music. Ronon smiled, looking from the Doctor to his friend and back.

"You're staring at her."

"What?" Sheppard answered incredulously. "No way."

Ronon's eyebrows went high in an obvious expression of doubt. He didn't need to say anything else, though. Sheppard was already on the defensive.

"I'm absolutely not staring at her," he protested in a yell-whisper. "Don't' say that – it sounds creepy. She's senior staff. A high ranking member of this expedition. Her protection is one of my responsibilities."

"Yeah," Ronon answered. "I'm sure that's it. That's exactly how you look at Woolsey."

Sheppard glared at him for effect.

"Ask her out," Ronon prodded, undeterred.

Sheppard looked as though he had something to say, but nothing came out.

Jennifer switched legs and continued her routine, unaware of the conversation across the gym or the approach of a new lieutenant who decided to come calling. He stood behind Jen for a second and looked her up and down. Nodding his head yes and giving a thumbs up to a friend by the lockers, he made his way next to Jennifer. As she continued stretching, he leaned against the wall near her, crossed his arms, and said hello.

Jen pulled the earbud closest to the new arrival out.

"Sorry, did you say something?"

"I said we should go get some dinner some time."

It was her turn to look him up and down.

"No thank you, lieutenant."

He put his hand on his heart suddenly, pretending that she broke it with her rebuff.

"You wound me. You have to at least give me a chance."

"Sorry, lieutenant," she said with a smile and a head shake. "Have a good afternoon."

She turned to relocate, but not being done with his advance and not taking no for an answer, the young lieutenant grabbed Jennifer's wrist to impede her progress. Jennifer looked down at her wrist and looked back up into the young man's eyes with a glare.

Sheppard tensed when the marine approached her, and now as he shifted his weight to cross the room, Ronan put an arm out across his chest.

"Wait."

"For what?"

"You'll see," Ronon said.

"If you would remove that hand, lieutenant," Jennifer said conversationally.

"But we aren't done talking."

"Yes we are. Take your hand off me," she instructed, her tone leaving no room for misinterpretation.

But Ronon knew some guys never learn.

When the man made no attempt to comply, Ronon watched as Jennifer casually moved her feet into a wider, more stable stance. He curled the corner of his mouth as she turned her shoulders the slightest bit to get a better angle and leverage point. And when she broke his grasp, put his wrist and thumb in an awkwardly pressured position, used it to turn him and put his chest into the wall, Ronon broke out in a full smile.

"We worked on that last week," Ronon said to John.

And as if she finally felt eyes on her, she looked over her shoulder at Ronon and John.

"I'm all about forgive and forget. You had a misunderstanding about whether or not it's ok to put your hands on me. It's not. And Ronon and Colonel Sheppard are here, so when you turn around, I would look contrite and disappear if I were you. Sound good?"

He nodded his head a few times and she let go, stepping backward as he gave a mumbled "excuse me" and made for the door.

Jennifer waved a quick hello at her would-be protectors, and then put the earbud back in and returned to stretching.

Sheppard's brow furrowed as he looked across the room at the good Doctor.

"Told you she would surprise someone," Ronon said with pride in his student.

"Is it wrong that I found that a little hot?"

"Nope. I think watching a woman kick's someone ass is totally hot."

"Then why aren't you and Teyla together yet," Sheppard joke.

"Someone else's ass. When they kick your ass it's a little less hot."

"Let's hope Lieutenant Hicks thinks so. I am going to go underscore her message and remind him of the culture of respect we are building here."

Ronon laughed. "Have fun."

Sheppard put his fist out in front of Ronon.

"Good work training her. I didn't imagine she needed it here on Atlantis."

Ronon reciprocated the fist bump, not being keen on the tradition but appreciating its intent.

"Women need it everywhere. It'll serve her well here, on missions, and I hear it'll come in handy on Earth, too."

John nodded and headed for the door.

Ronon finally made his way over to Jen as she stood up.

"Nice work."

"Wondered at first if you sent him over as a skills test," she said.

"You ok?" he asked looking at her wrist.

She nodded her head. "Yeah," she responded as she rotated her wrist. "Maybe a little embarrassed. Probably didn't need to go so far."

Ronon shook his head and answered more harshly than he meant to.

"No."

Seeing her expression change he softened his tone.

"Don't be sorry. He had no right to put his hand on you. If you hadn't countered him, what would he have felt entitled to next?"

"Yeah, but …."

He shook his head again.

"No second guessing. Read your instincts and go. A bad plan acted out decisively is more likely to succeed than a good plan acted with hesitation."

He wasn't sure she was buying it.

"You do it all the time in the medbay. I've seen you. Split second decisions that save lives. Every day. This is no different. Make a decision and act."

She nodded in acceptance of his instruction, and then wanted to move off the subject.

"So what's the plan for today?"

"Reach up and grab that pull up bar and I'll show you"

* * *

John headed towards Lieutenant Hicks' quarters with purpose.

His men. All of the military men assigned to the expedition were his men. The idea that one of them would put their hands on Jennifer was infuriating.

And then his mind wandered to Jennifer. If he was being honest, the idea of anyone putting their hands on her at all made his jaw tighten the slightest bit. What was that all about?

Sheppard had known Jen for more than a year. She hadn't been an obvious fit for the expedition at first. The military crew had a higher than average adrenaline streak running through them, and she most certainly did not. She was a little quiet – sort of kept to herself. But the minute she was needed, the minute someone's life was on the line, she was all confidence and decisiveness and control.

 _Ask her out._

That was Ronon's suggestion. He should ask her out.

Why would John ask her out?

She was a colleague. A peer. A co-worker. A responsibility.

They had been spending a lot of time together. Meals. Movies. Walking her to her shift. He knew her schedule. He was shifting making mission assignments so that his team was accompanying her off-world more and more. He was saving her a seat at dinner. He was next to her at every one of Woolsey's staff meetings.

Was it just chance?

Was there something else going on inside his head?

Why was he feeling so protective?

And now was a good time to wonder as he rang the chime on Lieutenant Hicks door.


	2. Chapter 2

It was an easy night to be a doctor on Atlantis. There were no overnight patients. Barely any visitors. A few stitches from a hand to hand combat session. A botanist that was worried about a skin irritation on his arm. Nothing complicated, nothing serious, and nothing time consuming. Evan's team wasn't even due back until the next night – at least that would be some post mission medicals and maybe a few stories.

Eventually Jen had to give in to the stack of paperwork she had been putting off for far too long. She reviewed prescriptions. She read injury follow ups. She spot checked narcotic inventory. She ensured her standards for patient care were met. She memorized names and pertinent information on some recruits arriving soon. It was weeks' worth of catch up. It gave her things to go over at her weekly staff meeting.

And it gave her things to go over with John and Evan.

She knew that Nelson had gone through four weeks of pain pills in twelve days, and may be developing a problem. She knew that the injury that was keeping Samuels out of the duty rotation was really his fear of the Wraith having a physical manifestation. She knew that Kramer's injuries weren't the clumsiness the woman blamed them on but where the outward signs of an abusive relationship.

It struck her as she lost herself in the pile that she probably knew more about the members of the expedition than anyone else. It wasn't bragging, just fact. Some of it she didn't even want to know. There were just very few ways to keep secrets from the head doctor on the expedition.

She worked until her shift ended at midnight, and after transitioning the patient board with no patients on it to Dr. Pedersen, she retreated to her office again and did another two hours of paperwork. Then she decided to call it a night.

She stopped by the mess to grab a cup of hot chocolate, and then grabbed a coffee, light with no sugar, and headed to the gateroom. Chuck was working third shift this week, and was having a hard time adjusting to the schedule. The first few days after the change were always hard for him, so she brought him a coffee and a smile.

She hung out with him and the security team stationed there for almost half an hour. They were good guys. And funny. There were lots of stories and laughs. Finally, she heard her bed calling.

But turning to leave she heard the sound of the gate, and watched as the security team took their ready positions.

"Offworld Activation," Chuck said, quickly followed by, "Santos' IDC."

"Shield down," the security team instructed, and they waited for the team to come through.

"They're back early," Chuck noted.

The group of eight came back through the gate in complete disarray. Three of them were herding the others through like cats, and it was chaos - the kind of chaos that drew Jennifer's interest. And concern. She approached the bottom of the ramp and tried to figure out what was going on.

Evan stumbled, his eyes half closed, almost unable to stay on his feet.

"Evan?" Jennifer asked, putting her hands on the side of his face and gently lifting his eyelids to get a better look at his pupils. He didn't respond to her – barely acknowledged her.

Santos came front and center to answer the obvious question.

"No idea, Ma'am. They're a mess. Rogers hasn't stopped crying for the last hour, Kelly hit Santini, who should be pissed but is laughing about it. Rodriquez is all horn… I mean …. overly affectionate with Chung, and she is looking to lay him out. Everyone is out of their minds. Except the Major. He's half asleep."

"OK," Jen said with authority. "Everyone to the medbay now." She activate her calm unit, and warned the medical staff they were about to be very busy. Feast or famine – that was always the way of it.

"Santos, walk with me and tell me what happened."

The young marine fell in next to her and began to tell the story of the mission, but they were interrupted when Kelly began yelling that he wasn't going to the medbay and they he was going to his quarters. Jennifer approached him and in a kind but firm voice she told him that he needed to follow protocol and come to the infirmary. She extended her hand out in the direction of the door, encouraging him to move out, when he became enraged. He pushed her, her shoulder making contact with the console to the side.

She gained her bearing and looked up at him, realizing that the security team had its hand full ushering the returning SGA-2 team along. She reached for her ear piece and made a call on the military channel.

"Need additional security teams to the gateroom ASAP," she called, her voice filled with tension as Kelly made a b-line for her.

"This is Dr. Keller. We need additional security…."

She stopped speaking as she tried to avoid the punch Kelly threw in her direction. Her quick action made the strike little more than a glancing blow off her cheekbone, and missing with that much momentum and so little control put him on the ground. By then Miccio and security stepped in to restrain him. Santos was right: this was a mess.

Reaching for her communicator again, Jennifer found it missing – knocked to the ground by Kelly and stepped on in the ensuing movement.

"Chuck, I am heading up to the medbay. Santos, Chung, Miccio, help were you can, or get the security team to assist. I need the entire team in the infirmary. And wake up Colonel Sheppard."

"Yes, ma'am," she heard from multiple voices as she headed back to the medbay.

* * *

John sat up in bed with a start as his brain processed the words.

 _"_ _Need additional security teams to the gateroom ASAP."_

Maybe not the words. Maybe more the voice. Filled with tension, and maybe a hint of fear.

 _"_ _This is Dr. Keller. We need additional security …"_

She didn't need to say who it was. He'd known in an instant.

And as soon as her voice stopped suddenly mid-sentence, and the connection cut off, he was out of bed like a rocket. Throwing on pants and slipping into his boots he didn't bother to tie, he tried to reach her.

"Dr. Keller, this is Sheppard. Respond"

Nothing.

"Keller?"

Nothing.

"Jen?"

Nothing.

By the time he got the call from Chuck to report to the gateroom, he was halfway there. Entering, the signs of chaos were all but gone. The gate was close, the security team was back where it was supposed to be, and chuck was drinking his coffee.

"Report!" he barked, and the security team answered while Sheppard tied his boots. They explained that SGA-2 had returned from MDX-744 early and they didn't seem themselves. Sheppard asked about the CMO, only to be told that she had been in the gateroom coincidentally when the team came back through, that she had called for additional security assistance, that she had ordered everyone to the medbay, and that Kelly took a swing at her.

"Is Dr. Keller alright?" That was what he really wanted to know. It had propelled him out of bed. It had tightened his gut.

"She seemed fine when she left," they assured him.

His muscles relaxed as he thought about what they had just told him.

"Kelly?" he asked, almost not believing it.

They nodded.

"I am heading to the medbay," he informed them, and not waiting for a response of any kind, he turned on his heels and went up to see what was going on.

The scene in the medbay was chaos. Sheppard had walked Jennifer to her shift around eleven hours ago, he thought, looking at his watch, and it couldn't have been a starker contrast to the craziness now. Extra staff had been called in, and all eight members of SGA-2 were being attended to in different areas. Some were conversational, some were emotional, some were being disruptive. He looked for the CMO.

"Doc," he called, and was met with the turning heads of both Keller and Pedersen. "That Doc," and then realized that didn't clarify anything. "Her, Doc. Doctor Keller."

Jen took the chart in her hand and tapped it to Pedersen's chest. He reached and took it from her.

"Go, start with Rogers."

Pedersen gave her a blank stare.

"Rogers. Corporal Eddie Rogers."

He shook his head.

"Five-ten, brown hair, brown eyes, from Indiana."

He looked at her waiting for her to say something that would help him out.

"Patient presented with emotional distress, and demonstrating constricted airways. Oxygen levels low. History of asthma and collapsed lung on a mission twenty two weeks ago?"

"Oh – bed 8," Pedersen replied.

"You know, you could actually get to know our patients, like, as people. Didn't your professors in med school ever tell you the old 'know the patent, treat the body'?"

"Are you sure you went to an accredited medical school?" he asked sarcastically. "That sounds kind of hokey."

She took a step closer to him, and carefully and deliberately used her thumb and middle finger to flick him on the forehead, making him smile.

"Yes, ma'am. Bed 8."

She crossed to John.

"What can I do for you, Colonel?"

He reached for her face and tilted her head just the slightest amount to inspect the bruise on her cheek forming.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she said quietly with a smile. "Thanks."

"What are we looking at?"

"No idea. Five of the eight are showing some signs of being affected by something, but no consistency to the manifestation. Running blood tests and doing examinations now. Chung, Santos and Miccio aren't showing any signs. They don't have a lot to offer about what happened, but they are your best bet if you want answers."

John made the rounds to all three, and they all had the same story. Their sensors had picked up energy readings coming from a grouping of caves. It was raining. They decided to investigate. Caves were empty; not very deep and nothing of note. The energy signal seemed to be some kind of reflective interference. Nothing interesting. They made their way back towards the entrance of the cave to sleep out of the rain before returning in the morning.

Chung, Santos and Miccio had first watch. They heard Kelly yelling about something and heard Rogers start to cry. When they went back into the area with the rest of the team, they all seemed different. It was all they could do to herd them back to the gate. No idea what happened.

Sheppard praised them for getting the team back, and told them to try and relax enjoy their stay. He knew Jennifer wouldn't release them until she had a better idea of what was going on. Ronon had arrived and was helping one of the nurses restrain Kelly. Then he heard another nurse make a startled sound, and turned to find Rodriguez with his hand on her ass. Sheppard and Ronon escorted the young private back to his bed, and restrained him too, for good measure.

It was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time the patients were settled and initial debriefs were done with the three SGA-2 team members that were thinking clearly, it was only an hour until dawn. Sheppard decided there was no point in trying to go to sleep. He grabbed a cup of coffee and headed to the gateroom. Woolsey was an early riser. He would be there soon enough.

It only took about twenty minutes to give Woolsey the run down on the overnight events.

"Does Dr. Keller believe any of the effects are life threatening?"

Sheppard shook his head.

"Right now it's just annoying. It doesn't appear to be impacting their health, just behavior."

"You'll keep me informed?"

"Absolutely," Sheppard confirmed and then exited. Whenever there was an obvious exit opportunity in a conversation with Woolsey he took it.

Especially when he was this tired.

He headed in the direction of the medbay, and then decided against it. He didn't want to get in anyone's way. Hovering wouldn't help. Back to his quarters, instead. He opted for a few hours of shut eye.

He felt much better when he woke. Figuring he had given everyone enough time to settle in, he went back to the medbay to see if there was news.

"Here for an update on the five dwarves?" Jen asked as he entered.

"Dwarves?"

"Sleepy, Weepy, Happy, Angry and Horny," Jen clarified, pointing to the appropriate bed for each one.

"Horny?" Sheppard asked, laughing at the new designators.

"He was a handful all night. Even restrained. He had propositions for the women on the staff I don't even think are physically possible. And I'm a trained medical professional."

"So no change?" he wondered.

Jen shook her head.

"No. I think we've cleared Santos, Miccio and Chung. Whatever it is that the group came in contact with, those three seem completely unaffected. We'll cut them loose by lunchtime. I'm sure they'll be so excited to be out of here they won't even mind writing up mission incident forms for you."

"That would be refreshing," John laughed.

"The other five are about the same. We are about to sedate Rodriguez and Kelly. It might be more for the staff than for them."

"Let me the hell out of here," Kelly ranted from the other side of the infirmary.

"See? I don't know that the sedation will help, but the agitation can't be doing him any good."

"I'll bet he's a mean drunk," Sheppard speculated.

"He doesn't drink," Jen told him.

"I've seen him in the lounge," John remembered.

"Yeah, he'll go every once in a while to hang out with people. He doesn't want to make a thing of it. There's some bad family history there. He stays away ….," she trailed off, deep in thought.

"What?"

"He said he drank some in high school and didn't like who it made him. Fights and stuff," Jen recalled.

"See, mean drunk."

"And what does Evan do when he has too much to drink?"

"Falls asleep."

"How did I not see it? You're a genius," she said, beaming at Sheppard. She leaned over and gave him a quick and unexpected kiss on the cheek. "Thank you!" and she bounded out of the room calling for Dr. Detoro.

And John stood glued to his spot in her office, contemplating how what he said made him a genius.

And the kiss.

* * *

It took Jennifer another two hours to prove the theory. The team was metabolizing something that they inhaled in the cave the same way their body would process alcohol. It explained why they were all reacting slightly differently. But the reaction was taking place primarily in their respiratory system, and not their blood stream, so it had gone undetected in the first round of blood tests.

She picked Santini, because he was the most agreeable. And when she thought about it, that made sense. Every time she saw him at the lounge he was a perfectly happy drunk. He got silly, told stories, and laughed constantly. Everything was funny to him if someone gave him a beer. When she told him to breath into the sensor he thought that was about the funniest thing he had ever heard.

After a while, silly drunks got tiring. She rolled her eyes waiting and he composed himself long enough to exhale.

Jennifer prescribed a course of treatment for Santini first. She aerosolized the treatment, and returned to administered it through a breathing device.

"No, wait!" he said excitedly. "I have an idea."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah," he said giggling. "You need to go examine Major Lorne first."

"We'll get to sleepyhead over there soon enough. Your turn first."

"Please?" Santini said with an exaggerated pout.

"Ok, I'll bite," Jen said. "Why Major Lorne first?"

"Cause that could be what sparks it. There's a lot of money on it for me." And then he burst out in laughter again.

Jennifer turned the gage and put the mask on his face despite his token protests. After a few minutes he calmed down. After another few minutes, he fell asleep, and when he work up two hours later, he was looking directly into the eyes of Jennifer Keller. She did a brief examination and had him exhale into the sensor again. Pleased with the results, and the general lack of laughter coming from Happy, she gave him the prognosis.

"It looks like the substance has been counteracted by the medication and is out of your system," she informed him.

"Awesome. Does that mean I can go?"

Jennifer pulled up a stool to the side of the bed.

"Nope. You are going to hang out with me for a while. I'm going to administer the treatment to Weepy, Sleepy, Angry and Horny, and then you and I are going to have a long talk."

"About what, ma'am?"

"About how much money you bet on me and Evan, and to do what."

If she looked up the word Busted in the dictionary, there couldn't have been a better example.


	4. Chapter 4

Sheppard heard from Jennifer early in the day. She told them that there was progress on Santini and that she was administering the treatment to the other 'Dwarves" next. She promised to have someone on her staff check in with him as the day went on, and he took that to mean that a) things were under control and b) that she didn't need people crowding them.

So he kept himself busy. He did some of the IOA paperwork he had been complaining about, finished the mission schedule for the coming month, and updated Woolsey on the situation in the medbay. Then he headed to the mess. With Lorne out of commission he was going to have to run the hand to hand combat session that evening. He convinced Ronon it would be more fun than it really would be and got the big man to agree to help him reset some egos. Break them down to build them up. With some people it is the only thing that gets through to them.

Sheppard was surprised to see Lorne make his way through the food line. Once his tray was full he joined the Colonel and Ronon at their table.

"Good to see you up and about, Major," Sheppard greeted.

"Thanks. It's good to be out of bed."

"Sleepy will be hard nick name to live down. The Doc may have out done herself with that one," Sheppard laughed.

"I'm just glad she signed me out. Didn't want to end up there overnight."

"Dr. Detoro sign everyone out?"

"Nah. They're keeping Angry and Horny another night - wanted to make sure the reaction was completely gone, since their behavior was the most likely to impact others. Happy got out an hour ago, and Jen was signing Weepy's papers when I left," Evan reported.

"Jen?" Sheppard asked.

"Yeah," Lorne nodded.

John looked at his watch. It was just after 1700 hours. He mumbled something under his breath.

"Didn't catch that," Lorne said.

"She's been on duty for more than twenty five hours. I don't think she's taken a real break or eaten an actual meal."

Sheppard stood, crumpling his napkin into a ball and putting it on his tray. "I'm going to make her a tray and bring it up to her. Maybe I can convince her to call it a day. Can you kick off the class tonight if I am late?"

Ronon nodded, but also repeated his advice to his friend.

"Ask her out."

Lorne looked from Ronon to his CO and back.

"No way. That's great. Are you and Jen heading to be an item?"

"No," John said. "Not an item. Don't go spreading that around." Then he pointed at Ronon. "Enough of that from you. I just want to make sure she is taking care of herself."

* * *

John took a quick trip through the mess line, grabbing only the bare minimum. His goal was to get some food in her stomach and then convince her to rest. Once the tray way was finished he turned to leave, catching a quick glance at Ronon and Evan, who were now watching him with smiles. John scowled at them once, and then hit the road.

When he arrived at the medbay he heard Jennifer before he saw her. Not that she was loud, but she was laughing. He vectored on the sound and found her standing with Kelly, no trace of mean left in him, and no hesitation or fear in her to be that close after their encounter. John put the tray on a counter, then leaned against it from an obscured position, listening to the two talk.

"I'm running out of ways to say I'm sorry, Dr. Keller."

"Well then here's a novel idea: stop. No one is thinking about it but you."

"But," he started only to have Jennifer interrupt.

"No. Enough," she commanded through an exasperated laugh. "If you apologize one more time I'll tell everyone you hit like a girl."

John peeked through where the curtain and the wall came together to see Kelly finally relenting, nodding his head and following her instructions. Jennifer came a step closer and put her hand on his arm.

"And if you ever want to talk about what it was like to grow up with someone with the kind of mean streak that your dad had, let me know. We could set something up for you and Dr. Heitmeyer and…"

He was shaking his head. "Marines don't go talk about their daddy issues to a shrink."

Jen leaned over and got even closer and whispered.

"They do. Plenty of them do. All the time. And no one else needs to know or be involved. It isn't anyone's business. And it could really help. For trusting yourself now, and for peace of mind later when you might be the dad. Just think about it."

Jen gave his shoulder a pat and stepped away, deciding that Kelly was considering her suggestion and there was no need to pile on. As she exited the area and came around the curtain, John watched her. You couldn't tell she had been on duty for a day; on her feet and on her game. She was still patient, still kind, and still treating the whole person, not just the ailment.

"Know the patient, treat the body?"

A sharp intake of breath betrayed the fact that she had no idea he was there. She placed a hand on her chest and took a deep breath with some embarrassment on her face.

"I've been working for twenty…," she looked at her watch, "…six hours and you came here to scare the crap out of me?"

"No. Not at all. I came to tell you that you did a hell of a job today. I came to thank you for taking such great care of the team."

"He's a good guy. He seems scared of what he is on the inside, but I think if he got through some stuff he would see there is nothing to be afraid of."

"And I came to give you this," he said reaching behind his back to present the tray of food with a slight bow of his head. "And I came to tell you your shift is over, and the next shift is over, and so is the one after that, and that you need to eat this and go get some rack time."

Her smile was infectious as she reached for the tray.

"Thank you. You're forgiven for startling me."

She brought the tray back to her office and sat at her desk, John pulling up one of the guest chairs and sitting with her while she ate. He filled the space with stories from the day; what he'd done, what missions were on the board for tomorrow. Just a way to keep her eating and engaged. Once she sat down, her patients on the mend and resting, the day caught up with her quickly. There was more than one yawn, and the tired was filling her eyes.

When the plate was empty he made a suggestion.

"How about I carry that brownie back to your quarters with you, and you can eat it there, or for breakfast after you pass out."

Jennifer giggled. "That sounds like a plan."

She nodded and handed him the brownie plate. Locking up her office and saying goodnight to Pedersen she let John lead her back to her quarters. In the space of fifteen minutes she had gone from fine to out on her feet. When John swiped his hand over her door to open it she slid an arm around his waist and leaned in for a little hug. John held the brownie high with one hand, and brought the other arm around her, gently rubbing the small of her back.

"You did good today, Doc."

"You're not so bad yourself," she replied through sleepy eyes. She turned to head in and then remembered the brownie. With a smile she relieved him of it, grabbed a bottle of water he produced from a pocked in his BDUs, and then retreated to bed.

He stood in the hallway on the outside of closed door for a minute. He hadn't walked her to her room and picked out her favorite sandwich because she was Senior Staff. He hadn't known that she would want the brownie and a bottle of water for the night because she was a responsibility. He didn't make sure she got some rest and walk her to her quarters because it was his job. And he certainly didn't hug her because he had to.

No, Jennifer Keller was working her way into his brain.

 _Ask her out._

Yeah. Maybe he should ask her out.


	5. Chapter 5

Jen crashed hard for ten hours, a luxury that she was almost never afforded. She stopped by the infirmary first thing, and checked on Kelly and Rodriquez, or Angry and Horney as she had called them. She killed the nickname talk for Kelly – thought it would only make him more self-conscious. Satisfied that the treatment had worked and they were indeed back to normal, she signed their discharge papers for later that morning. Then she relaxed back at her quarters before going to grab lunch.

In the mess she ran into Sheppard, Ronon, Lorne and Teyla. She grabbed a plate and went to join them, the group having made space when they saw her arrive.

She gave them an update on everyone's condition. Lorne was relieved – he hated it when anyone on his team was down.

They finished their meals, and right as the group was about to move on John remembered something.

"Have a question for you, Doc," Sheppard noted. He picked up a manila envelope that had been momentarily forgotten under his tray - the kind with the little string to keep it closed. He held it up in front of her. "So I got a visit from Santini, today. He said many interesting things, including that you two had a little chat about something, and that he owed this to me and I should ask you about it before I open it. Does any of that sound familiar?"

Jennifer laughed.

"I'll take that as a yes?" John confirmed, and as he went to open the envelope, Jennifer snatched it out of his hand. When he tried to swipe it back she turned her body to block him and stood up behind her chair, out of his reach.

"So it turns out that young Santini is the local bookie. While he was 'under the influence' in the medbay, he let slip something I thought was interesting. I told him he had to come clean with you about the server, and that he owed me this."

"And what is that?" Lorne asked.

"It's his current bet sheet. Let's see what people are betting on these days," Jen said trying to build intrigue with her voice. She scanned the papers quickly and picked out some of her favorites.

"Who can do the most push-ups?"

Then the table gave answers for who they would put money on if they were in the pool.

"Who will win the next knife throwing contest?"

"Nelson," everyone said at once. No real question there.

"How many people will Ronan send to the infirmary in Thursday's hand to hand class?"

Ronon shrugged his shoulders.

"Not my fault so many of them are either stupid or soft."

"Santini takes bets on everything," Jen said in disbelief, continuing to review the list. "What type of disaster my next mission will be. How many recruits from each new arrival batch will wash out in the first 30 days. When the next Wraith encounter will be. Ahhh. Here is the one I was looking for. First Senior Staff hook up."

"Ooh," Evan said conspiratorially. "Do tell."

John reached for the papers again only to have Jennifer slap his hand with them and laugh.

"No no no. I want to see this." There was an expression for each name as Jennifer read the list. "People bet on … me and Evan, me and Rodney, me and Ronon, me and ..Teyla." She looked over at Teyla. "Interesting."

"Hook up?" Teyla asked her.

"Get together, sort of date, sort of fool around," Evan explained.

"Oh," Teyla said in acknowledgement, followed by another "oh" when the understanding of it hit her.

"Alright," John said finally snatching the papers away from her. That's probably enough of that."

"I don't know," Jennifer said coming to stand behind Teyla. She ran her hands through Teyla's hair. "Suddenly that list has me thinking of all new possibilities."

"Stop it," John warned. "No one will get anything done around here with that image in their head."

"Really?" Jen said teasing. "What image?"

John shook his head, refusing to encourage her.

Jen put on a sexy voice and sultry face and leaned over to Teyla's ear.

"Hey Teyla, you want to go… meditate?"

Evan and Ronon busted out laughing. John couldn't help but crack a smile.

Teyla smiled at the joke but seemed unable to keep it going.

"Yes, our meditation session is soon, Jennifer. I will see you there shortly."

With that, Evan, Ronon and Teyla took their leave while Jen finished a cup of coffee and tried to help Santini out.

"Don't go too hard on Santini," Jen encouraged Sheppard. "These are all pretty harmless. He has rules for each one, won't take a bet bigger than twenty bucks, and has never missed a payment, so he tells me."

John told Jennifer how the conversation with Santini had played out. Turns out that when Happy sobered and had his conversation with Jen he thought he would be in a lot of trouble. He kept his promise to the Doc, and self-reported to his CO, explaining to Sheppard that he ran the small betting pool, and kept records of the bets stored on a server that he built and had up and running on Atlantis.

"Is running private servers allowed on Atlantis?"

"Well, it's a gray area. Apparently he built a Call of Duty server so that he could run 3v3 CoD tournaments. That's what he thought he'd be in trouble for. The server was just a convenient place to keep the betting sheets so that it was all on the up and up and people could see the odds. The betting isn't really a big deal as long as it stays as petty cash. Hard to stop either way. Not much else to spend money on here."

"So what did you tell him about the server?"

"It isn't connected to any mission systems, or anything ancient, so it's probably fine. I told him I wanted him to give Rodney access to it to run a diagnostic, make sure it is all clean and harmless. He said he would."

She nodded at him and continued to drink her coffee. John watched her. Relaxed. Happy. Beautiful. Where did beautiful come from?

 _Ask her out._

Damn that Satedan, John thought. The idea hadn't even crossed his mind a week ago, and now somehow it had worked its way inside and taken root. And how would he even do it. "Hey – we eat dinner together all the time, but how about we eat together differently?" It isn't like he could take her on a real date, and it wasn't like either of them were ever truly off duty.

Would it cloud his judgement? Would it complicate missions? Would it be a mess when it ended? How would he know if she was interested?

It had been so long since he had even asked someone, he wasn't sure where to start.

"So interesting about Santini's list," he said suddenly, having Jen look up at him.

Smooth, John. Really smooth.

"What's that?" Jennifer asked.

"I noticed that for the hook up bet, no one bet on you and me."

Jennifer laughed for a second.

"Yeah, we didn't make the list."

John leaned a little closer.

"Why do you think that is?"

He watched her carefully to read her body language. She smiled at him kindly, but she went from her relaxed self to the slightest bit guarded.

"That's easy."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Because you're a cult of personality, decorated war hero, action figure waiting to be made."

"Oh I am, am I?" he asked feigning modesty, but puffing his chest out for effect.

Her shoulders sank just a little, and she looked at her now empty mug.

"And I'm a girl next door, kinda clumsy, possibly cursed, albeit brilliant, doctor."

John's chest deflated and he put a hand on her arm.

"That's not really what you see, right?"

Jen shook her head a little, more like she was shaking a thought out of her head than answering his question.

"Just wouldn't be an obvious match." And then she caught his eye nervously. "From the outside looking in, I mean."

Was that an opening? He stumbled for a moment without a plan for how to get from there to his question, and the delay cost him, because Jen used it as an opportunity to escape.

"I need to meet Teyla. Meditation. Then maybe a run. I'll see you later."

And with that, she was gone.

And John had some planning to do.


	6. Chapter 6

Jennifer fled.

She knew there was no other word for it. There was something in the tone of his voice. An expectation of something in the way he asked the question; the way her touched her arm.

It was unexpected. Not unwanted, but unexpected.

And her skills with the opposite sex and mind reading were epically bad. What if she was reading him wrong? It seemed a little flirty, and a conversation he waited to have until they were alone. Or maybe he just thought it was interesting.

Ugh. She was so bad at this.

And what unfortunate timing, because now not only would she have this running around her head all day, but she was sure to get admonished by Teyla during meditation for not being able to relax and clear her mind.

A quick trip to her quarters got Jen everything she needed, and looking at her watch she decided to just shower there and head right to her shift. She made it right on time, meeting Teyla for some stretching and a meditation routine that involved movement and stretching and core strength building. By the end of the routine, Jennifer was finally focused on the movement and not on John.

Once she and Teyla were finished, Jennifer decided on a short run. Out in the open air with the ocean on her left, she let herself get lost in the reflection of the sun on the water and how happy she was on Atlantis.

She stopped at a railing to catch her breath as she finished her path. As she took it all in, she felt a little smile reach her lips as she wandered back to the conversation with John at lunch.

He was uncharacteristically nervous when he asked her about the dating bet. As nervous as she was when he said it. If you had asked her five minutes earlier she wouldn't have even entertained the idea, but listening to his voice, and seeing the look in his eyes, maybe. The way he reached for her. A look that almost went right through her and made her shiver.

Maybe.

Maybe there was something to the idea of her and John.

She made it back to the gym, which was much closer than her quarters with enough time to shower and change before her shift. She grabbed her bag and headed to the locker room, letting the water get nice and warm before stepping in. She stood under the water, making it even warmer, and closed her eyes letting the water cascade on the back of her neck and down her shoulders.

She didn't know what had triggered it, but she had the strangest feeling. Nothing tangible, nothing obvious, but an uneasiness that she couldn't shake. She closed her eyes again and tried to concentrate on the heat of the water, but it didn't work. And when she opened them again she was sure that she saw the edge of the curtain move.

Curtains move. Rising steam creates air currents in the room with enough strength to make a curtain move in the breeze. Scientific fact. No paranoia needed. Thermodynamics explained it all.

So why was she still uneasy?

Breathe like Teyla taught you, Jennifer.

Close your eyes. Connect with your body. Connect with the air. Center yourself.

And then she was sure she saw a change in light through her closed eyes, like a bulb burning out. The curtain was moving again, and she heard faint footsteps. She turned off the water and put on her towel, drying off and stepping out into the larger area to put on her uniform.

All alone. But she was sure she had heard someone. She chided herself for being crazy, and got ready for work.

* * *

He sat on his bed, feet up, looking at the view screen for the digital camera. It was the closest he had been yet. She had heard him, too. He knew that. He wouldn't be able to try it again - she would be more alert. He would have to find another way to get close to her. Closer. He was tired of watching her from a distance. He only had a few days left on Atlantis. He would have to give her a proper goodbye.

He held up the camera, leaned back, and unhooked the belt on his BDUs.

The slightly grainy image of a form, standing under a stream of water. Her hands raised rinsing the last of the soap out of her hair. A hint of her breast, the curve of her ass, and a million ideas of what to do when he got her alone.

Just wait, Keller.

* * *

Rodney had lost all track of time in the lab, which wasn't uncommon for him. Also, his singular focus was blocking out the sound of a young new scientist clearing his throat trying to get Rodney's attention. He finally had to speak up.

"Dr. McKay?"

"What is it…," Rodney started, snapping his fingers trying to have the man's name come to him, only to stop trying "…you."

"I finished the diagnostic on the server box. The main side is clean. Factory standard, no malware, just doing exactly what was described. There is something else going on, though. There is some encryption for a secondary partition I'll need to run some algorithms on in the morning. I left the laptop at your station."

Rodney nodded and the young man took his leave. And then a few minutes later, his words started to connect in Rodney's mind. Partition. Encryption. Rodney got curious. Heading back to his station Rodney ran his own diagnostics on Santini's server. The young scientist was right. Someone had partitioned a small part of the server off, and loaded an encryption pattern to access it.

That by itself was suspicious behavior. Encryption was always a good mental exercise for Rodney. Codebreaking was a hobby, so he took to it as the lab started to empty for the day, and in short order had the partition open in front of him. Looked like a closed message board, with names for threads that he recognized.

He clicked through them one by one. Childish. Sophomoric. Inappropriate. Some posts were downright disgusting. And then he got to the one that turned his stomach. Quickly closing the laptop he got on his communicator.

"Sheppard, this is McKay."

"Go ahead, Rodney."

"I need you in the lab now."

"Is this like you have a scientist who brought lemonade into the lab, or like the Wraith will be here soon?"

"John, get down here."

* * *

John heard the change in Rodney's demeanor, and the seriousness of his voice and didn't push it.

"On my way," was all he said as he made his way through the hallways. The four minute walk gave him time to imagine all kinds of things that might be wrong. He got faster as he went, and once he entered the lab Rodney's expression did nothing to calm him.

Rodney's face was a mix of disgust and anger.

"Everyone out," Rodney instructed. There was a grumbling from someone about stopping now meaning they would have to start over in the morning, to which Rodney just repeated the command and waited until everyone was gone.

"So what's going on?" John asked looking to deal with the issue, whatever it was, head on.

Rodney explained that they had finished the diagnostic on Santini's server. The gaming side was straight forward – nothing of note, exactly what he said it was.

"Well that's good then, right?"

"It's the other side that isn't alright. Not alright at all."

Rodney explained that someone had partitioned the server and created a password encrypted space for a message board. The board was a series of threads, fourteen of them, with the names of women in the expedition. Some of them were admiration from afar. Some of them were kissing and telling. And one of them was much worse.

Rodney opened the laptop and turned it to John, who started through the threads. Cursory at first, just to get the overall gist. It was 'who's hot', 'what must she be like in bed', 'do you think she is a screamer', 'guess how she liked it' kind of stuff. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't heard it before. Inappropriate, but not enough to get Rodney so wound up.

And then he found the thread marked Keller.

His gut clenched and his eyes got steely as he clicked it open, reading a conversation that had taken place over the last ten months. Different from the others. This one had a sinister feel to it. There was one person on the board who seemed laser focused on Jen – what she did with her down time, how he was going to have her – and it was getting more graphic. Less big talk and more almost planning.

John scrolled down to the latest entry in the board, and that was when he saw it.

 _JACKHAMMER: Getting closer all the time! Gonna give her the JACKHAMMER_

And then a picture. Of Jennifer. Naked. In the shower. Here on Atlantis, where she should be safe and under the protection of the military forces on the expedition. And now it looked like one of them had crossed an unspeakable line.

And as bad as the picture was, its existence and what it meant, the next exchange was made John's blood boil.

 _HODROD: Don't think she wants you, dude._

 _JACKHAMMER: The less she wants it, the more I'll like it._

John picked up some stress ball on Rodney's desk and chucked it across the room while Rodney moved the laptop out of reach and closed it to keep the picture off the screen.

"Who are they?"

"I don't know yet. Nine unique IDs used over the last year. One of them stopped five months ago, two of them stopped three months ago - probably people who have rotated home. So six users that are currently here and contributing to this … trash."

"Six out of hundreds. How do we find them?" John had action on his mind, and needed a focus point for his frustration.

"They aren't using well known nicknames, or the user names they keep on Santini's side of the box, so we don't know. We can probably assume that at least one of them plays Santini's tournaments, because that's how they knew about the server to begin with."

"I want to know who this JACKHAMMER is, and I want to know now!" John yelled.

"I'm on it," Rodney assured him.

But that wasn't enough. Someone was getting too close to Jen. He had to know who, but until then, he had to keep her safe.


	7. Chapter 7

Sheppard entered the gym about halfway through Jen's session with Ronon. She was all focus and concentration, and didn't really seem to know he was there. He blended into the wall out of her field of vision and watched them work.

It wasn't anything like watching Ronon work with a Marine – no, then Ronon would let ego and recklessness run them right into a spot laid out on the floor. With Jen it was all precision and repetition. He taught her a move, offensive or defensive. Then he drilled it at quarter speed until it was perfect. Then half speed until it was perfect. He adjusted her elbow, he moved her hips – he did it until it was full speed and perfect. And then he started again, playing the other part. He came in slow, then a little faster, then a little faster until she responded with the right move at the right time.

John looked around the gym. The shower pic had been taken in the gym showers. He was almost grateful because it meant JACKHAMMER hadn't been in her room, but it also meant it could be anyone. Anyone of these men here right now watching Ronon and Jen work – and that made him angry.

He cleared his head as Jen's session ended, and called her over. He was dreading this conversation.

"Look at you. Avoiding paperwork, Colonel?" Jen joked.

He laughed a nervous laugh.

"Actually looking for you. This is an official call."

"Ooh – all business," she said with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"Maybe we could find somewhere private to talk. Or just out of the way in the mess if you want to grab some food before your shift."

"Oh, okay," she said, a little taken aback. "I was going to grab a shower then hit the mess. Can I meet you there in a few minutes?"

"I think it's better if you don't. Come grab something to eat and we can talk. I told Detoro you might be late for your shift and he said it was no problem."

"John, you're scaring me."

"I don't mean to," he said gently. He ran an arm along the outside of her arm to reassure her. "Just need to talk to you about something."

Jennifer grabbed her bag and gestured towards the door.

"Lead the way," she said with a hint of anxiety making it into her voice.

* * *

Jen gathered her tray and met John at a small table out of the way that in size and location made it clear they were not looking for company. There was no putting it off anymore, so John just laid out what he knew.

He told her that he had found a message board where members of the expedition were posting stupid and inappropriate and sometimes offensive things about some of the women on Atlantis. He told her that there were only six men that were currently a part of it, that it was mostly just arrogance and bravado, and that he was identifying them and would deal with it.

"And you had to tell me this because…"

She saw right through him. He knew she would.

He told her about the threads with names on them, and that there was a thread dedicated to her. That there was one of the six who had seemed particularly fixated on her, and the thread had turned from just talk to something more concerning. He slid an envelope with a piece of paper folded inside.

She looked over her shoulder for no reason – just sensing the gravity. And then her hand came to her mouth as the picture of her naked in the shower left her speechless.

"Who…?"

"I don't know yet, but I will, Jennifer. Count on that. I will."

She nodded her head while she looked at the picture. Unconvinced. She pushed the paper back into the envelope, and buried it in her gym bag.

"It was the other day. After my meditation with Teyla. I went for a run and then showered there to make my shift on time. I heard something. I saw something weird with the light. I saw the curtain move. How did I not…."

"Of all the people who should feel like they did something wrong, you are not on that list. I'm sorry, Jen. This is one of my men. This is my command. You should always feel safe in this city."

"You have to find him, John."

"It's my number one priority."

"Who else has seen this?" she asked nervously.

"Well, six guys I don't know on a message board, and me and Rodney. McKay actually found it and showed it to me."

"Did he take it down?"

John shook his head apologetically. "If we alter the board, then we may lose our chance to find out who it is. They'll figure out we are on to them and go underground."

Jen understood. Even if she didn't want to.

"I'm going to tell Ronon and Evan just for some extra help, but I'm not going to show anyone the picture."

She nodded again, and pushed her tray away. She'd lost her appetite.

* * *

Jennifer decided to go right to the medbay from the mess. There were showers there– she would use one of them. She relieved Detoro on time and lost herself on tasks big and small, important and almost unnecessary just to keep from dwelling too much on John's revelation about the picture and the message board.

That was when it was hard to know everyone on the expedition a little bit. To imagine that men that she knew, maybe worked with, maybe operated on – that they could be looking at her like that and peeping on her in the shower, it was a tough pill. And Jennifer always saw the best in everyone, so she was ill equipped to try and figure out who it was on her own. No – she would have to leave that to her friends. And John.

He was sort of in his own category these days. Yes, he was certainly a friend, but there was something else there, too. She was seeking out his company. She was smiling when he walked into a room. She was thinking about him when he wasn't around. She couldn't shake the feeling that she might be falling for him. And while her whole life the thought of falling for a guy made her nervous, the thought of him just made her smile.

And as if on cue, he wandered into the medbay with a smile.

"Deep in thought, Doc?"

She hoped she didn't blush.

"Just getting ready to hand the board over to Dr. Cole for the evening."

"And that makes you smile like that?" he noticed.

Now she was definitely blushing.

"Something else entirely. What can I do for you?"

"Your shift is about to end. I thought maybe I could convince you to grab a midnight snack with me."

"It's so late," she pointed out.

"Your company is worth it," he said sweetly, and she almost got distracted by eyes before she remembered her schedule.

"Sorry," she explained. "I can't. I'm on tomorrow at 0800. Back to day shift. I need to get some sleep and come right back."

Was that disappointment that flashed across his face?

"You should talk to the person who runs the schedule around here," he joked.

"I know, but tomorrow is Daedalus day. I never miss a new recruit day."

"There are plenty of doctors on your staff that can check in some jarheads," he reminded her.

"True enough, but there are eleven new faces tomorrow: six Marines, two Air Force, a botanist, an engineer and a comms guy. I want them to feel like they can trust me. I want to be here to welcome them."

"Know the patient?"

"Something like that."

"Then how about I just walk you back to your quarters."

"That," she said with grin, "would be lovely."

* * *

They made their way through the hallways at a leisurely pace, and John was disappointed when they reached the destination. She swiped her hand against the control panel, and as the door opened she turned to face him, leaning on the door frame.

Now or never, he thought to himself.

He put one hand on the wall over her shoulder, crossing clearly into what was her personal space. He smiled his best flyboy smile, and asked his question.

"So how about you and I have dinner tomorrow night."

She was so taken with his eyes she almost forgot to answer. It was the sound of the door closing behind her that keyed her into the fact that she had lost track of time. But he never lost eye contact.

"Yeah," she said. "I'd love that."

"Great. I'll swing by and pick you up around 1800?"

"Well," she said hesitantly. "Maybe, could…"

She delayed and so he prodded.

"Would something else work better?"

"Shift, then a session with Ronon. How about you grab us some food and we could eat and watch a movie at your quarters? Maybe 1900?"

"I think I can make that work," he assured her.

Her expression changed. Her brow furrowed.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"This isn't about the picture guy, right? I guess…. I mean… Is this about you putting yourself on bodyguard duty?"

He should have thought of that. With the new revelation, maybe it was a bad time to have pushed the envelope. He put a hand on each shoulder, and looked her square in the eye.

"I am happy to play bodyguard anytime, but no, that isn't where this came from. I just thought I'd really like to spend some time with you. Not like – hey maybe I'll run into Jen at the mess time. Real time. If this is a bad time with the other stuff going on then we can wait for a while, but …..."

She shook her head and cut him off.

"No. I'd like that, too. Just making sure I understood. I'm looking forward to it."

He stayed like that a minute, just looking at her, before she called it a night. Gesturing with her head to the door behind her, she told him she had to get some sleep.

"See you tomorrow," he said with a wink.

"Yeah. Tomorrow."

* * *

He was down the hall around the corner and laughing to himself at the two he saw in front of him.

Keller always plays it so sweet and polite, but it turns out she's a tease. She let Sheppard walk her to her room, and then gives him the big kiss off at the door.

Always wondered if she was a tigress or an ice queen. His plan was almost ready. He would find out soon enough.


	8. Chapter 8

If Jen was being completely honest, she didn't really like Daedalus days. Everyone was a little off. New arrivals usually meant that at least some of the team was rotating home, and that was always disruptive. Ronon was meaner than usual to make an impression. Teyla was uncomfortable with the way the new recruits ogled the 'hot alien chic'. Rodney was more condescending than usual to solidify his place as resident most-genius.

Even John was different. He was a hard ass with the newbies to instill order and discipline from the first moment they stepped foot in his city.

And the new recruits are totally out of sorts. You can't ever know what you sign up for when you take a super-secret mission, so when they get to Atlantis they are usually all nerves or expectation or anxiety or ego. And do you know what people in those states don't love? Being poked and prodded by a new doctor.

Jen was a world class diagnostician and galaxy class trauma surgeon, which meant that she rarely saw people on their best day. She was used to it - had built up her defenses to not take it personally. So putting on her metaphorical body armor, she made the rounds in the medbay to introduce herself to all of the new arrivals. She was about half way through the list when John came by.

"Well hello," she said with a smile.

"Hey there. How are things in here going?"

"So far so good. Civilians came through earlier, and I think three of the military arrivals are done, so five to go, and it isn't even lunch," she reported with a chipper voice.

"Then everything is on schedule for dinner?" he asked in a slightly lower voice.

"Wouldn't miss it. 1900 at your quarters."

"Movie preference?"

"I've lived a pretty sheltered movie existence. You pick one."

"You got it."

It was then they heard a disturbance coming from behind a curtain. A raised voice they didn't recognize arguing with Dr. Pedersen. A crash and a clang. John moved towards the curtain to get one of his men under control, but Jennifer put a hand in his chest.

"It is perfectly normal for at least one person to freak out on their first day here. Don't make him do it in front of his new CO. It's a sure fire way to wash him out."

John relented.

"I'll be over here if you need anything."

Jen moved to the altercation to find a corporal fending off Pedersen's attempts to take back a hand held scanner.

"Hey hey hey," Jennifer said, her hands in front of her motioning for everyone to calm down. "Less yelling in my medbay," she said with a smile.

She gestured for Pedersen to move back, and introduced herself.

"I am Dr. Keller. I'm the Chief Medical Officer here. It's nice to have you in our fair city. You are Lance Corporal Todd Thoden. Welcome."

"How did you know that?" the man asked.

"Because it's my job to know who is here in the city and how we can help them. So what seems to be the problem here?"

"He tried to put this weird alien thing on me. I told him no way."

"His chart indicates a pre-existing shoulder fracture. I was attempting to image it for confirmation of bone alignment and structural integrity," Pedersen insisted. "And then he took the scanner..."

"That means he wants to check and make sure it all healed up right," Jen whispered as though she was telling Thoden a secret.

"I don't know what any of this stuff is. The docs back at the Mountain didn't say anything about my shoulder," he insisted.

Jennifer put her hand out for Thoden to return the equipment. He thought about it for a long time, but Jennifer was silent and patient. Eventually he put it in her hand.

"This is state of the art stuff, no doubt. It has the power to render images that combine to give all the detail of a catscan, an X-ray, and an MRI in one. No tubes or tunnels, no sleepy music, no waiting for results. And I will tell you one more secret." She leaned close. "It was made in a secret military lab in California. Good old Earth technology."

Thoden rolled his eyes at himself and started to look embarrassed, but Jennifer jumped in before that could happen. She handed the scanner back to Pedersen and motioned for Thoden to take his place on the examination table. As he came to sit she started chatting.

"So those were some pretty daft moves you had there to keep the scanner away from my colleague here," she started as he settled in. She took his wrist and extended his arm straight in front of him. "Were you a wrestler?" she asked conversationally as Pedersen began scanning the shoulder, and Jennifer kept talking and adjusting the shoulder position, giving Pedersen all of the angles he needed for a perfect scan.

"Yeah, for a long time. It was how I hurt the shoulder the first time. At the state championships."

"Oh yeah? What state?"

"Michigan."

"Does that make you a Lion's fan?"

"Yep, Lion's, Pistons, and Red Wings."

Jennifer made a disgusted face.

"What? You have a problem with the Lion's?"

"It's just that Red Wings fans are crazy."

"What are you? A Colorado Avalanche fan?"

"Red Wing fans are rabid…"

"We prefer passionate."

"And throw octopus on the ice."

"Yeah. I have no defense for that."

"No, it's gross."

Jennifer looked over at Pedersen, who had put the image of Thoden shoulder up on the monitor by the bed, and done a blood draw, had gotten a blood pressure reading that was way more reasonable than the one ten minutes ago, and was finished with the examination.

"Shoulder looks great. We have everything that we need. It was nice to meet you, Corporal," Pedersen said.

He hopped up from the table, shook hands, and was off to his next stop on his indoc checklist.

Pedersen just looked at Jen.

"OK. How did you do that? I thought he was gonna take a swing at me."

"You just need to engage. Get them talking. Either about them or something they know about. Make it seem like it's any other day."

"How did you know he was a wrestler?"

"I read his whole file – not just the treatment history page."

"That's all there is to it?"

"Two rules," she told him. "Number one, never lie. You're going to meet too many to keep it straight. Never say you were somewhere you weren't, you are from somewhere you aren't, you like something you don't. There is no way you won't get tangled in the web if you start to lie to relate."

"And two?"

"Never disclose. It isn't about you. The less you talk about yourself the better. Scared patients can be like ducks– they want to imprint. If you tell them too much about you they overestimate the bond and then they can hang and cling. We live with our patients every day, so we need to be careful to keep some line. For our own sanity. Or you will be sitting with patients at every meal for forever."

"You are an evil genius under all that peppy smile stuff, Dr. Keller."

"Why thank you, Rob. I will take that as a compliment. I think."

The rest of the day flew by for Jen, and before she knew it she was turning over the patient board. She changed back at her quarters and headed for the gym, finding Ronon already there. It was always a little harder to beat him there when she was working the day shift. The mission board was set to pick up in a few days after the Daedalus departed, though, so Jen was happy to get as many sessions in as she could while they were both available.

She kept her stretching to the bare minimum to keep him from having to wait too long, and got into her ready position. They started with a defensive position they had drilled the previous session. Quarter speed, half speed, full speed, but when Ronon lunged at her full speed the second time, she heard a loud outburst from a group of Marines behind her, and losing her focus, she turned to look at them.

"Sorry," she said as Ronon quickly changed his movement at the last second to avoid hitting her.

He stood there staring at her for a moment.

"Follow me."

* * *

Ronon headed for the door of the gym, pushing it open ahead of him with one hand and propping it open with his foot while he waited for Jen to follow.

"Where are we going?"

"Come on," was all he said.

He knew about the picture. Sheppard had told him the whole story until they both needed to hit something. And that it had happened in the gym. So it wasn't a complete surprise when the noise and the men there distracted her.

But he couldn't teach her that way, so he had another plan.

Not a minute's walk from the gym there was another room; smaller than the gym, but not small. Had some mats thrown around, but no other equipment. When they entered there were two people sparring.

"Out," was all he said, and they picked up their gear and disappeared without a word.

"Now let's try again with no distractions," he instructed, and Jennifer took her ready position.

"John told you?" she asked, walking through her motions as taught.

He nodded once.

"I thought I'd be ok, but being in the gym sort of put me on edge," she explained, but no explanation was necessary.

He was surprised she had wanted to come at all.

"So what is this place?" she asked him.

"A private location for training and … settling disputes," he said with a smile.

"It just freaks me out that someone I walk past in the hallway or work out next to in the gym might be the peeping Tom."

"Peeping Tom?"

"It's a guy on Earth who watches women through a window."

"That's weird," he said. "And it is ok to be freaked out." Then he took hold of her wrists and brought them in front of her so that her attention was completely focused on him. "But two things. Number one, don't let the fear take over. Make it anger. It will make it easier to fight back. And number two, Sheppard and McKay and Lorne are going to find him. And I am going to make him very sorry."

And at that precise moment Jennifer broke his hold of her wrist, extended her leg out to the side, and turned him over it, putting him on the ground.

He looked up in surprise, and maybe pride.

"OK. I'll hold him and you can make him very sorry."

She smiled a smile that reached her eyes. And that's how he knew she was ready to keep going. They drilled movement and blows at half speed, and while they did, he imparted some battle wisdom.

"You keep fighting. No matter what, you keep fighting."

She nodded as she deflected his movements. Even not quite at full speed it required her full attention.

"If someone tells you it will be easier if you comply, don't."

She nodded.

"If they tell you it will hurt less if you stop fighting, you fight harder."

She nodded.

"No one who has put you a position to say those things can be trusted to do anything but harm."

She nodded.

His motion stopped and put his face right in hers.

"You fight."

"I fight."

His turn to nod.

"Now try to put it out of your head. I hear you have plans with Sheppard tonight."

She blushed, and it made him laugh.

"What did he tell you?"

"That he asked you to dinner and for some crazy reason you said yes," And then the joking tone left his voice. "He is pretty excited."

"I think I am, too."

"Then let's get you back to your quarters. If I make you late he is going to a pain in the ass tomorrow."

* * *

Jennifer showered and got dressed. She changed twice. She broke out her make up bag that hadn't seen the light of the sun or the moon in what felt like eons. She brushed her hair one last time in the mirror.

"OK. Be cool, Jennifer," she told herself.

And with that she was out the door.

She got a whole three steps before she heard a sound and felt arms close in around her. She tried to scream, but something covered her mouth and nose and muffled the sound, and when she tried to breathe in she felt a burning sensation in her nose and lungs.

And then nothing.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N - For hifield, cause I hate to make her wait. More tomorrow. Appreciate everyone who is giving the story a chance even if it isn't their favorite - hopefully it's an entertaining ride. Leave a comment or review and let me know you are out there._

* * *

Jennifer came to. Slowly. Disoriented.

Her hair was in her face, and when she reached to move it, her wrists pulled against a binding. Her hands were tied high above her head. She looked up - each wrist was bound and then the rope was thrown over a conduit running across the ceiling. Her eyes followed the conduit along its path, finally giving her a chance to take in the room.

She had no idea where she was. A workroom? A tech room? An engineering room? It was empty aside from a table to her left against a wall. The room was small, and there was a loud mechanical hum that she didn't usually hear in the city.

And her nose was burning.

She remembered leaving her quarters and then little else. She felt hands grab her from behind. She recalled something crossing in front of her face – a cloth maybe? Drugged. Probably homemade chloroform. And the burning in her nose told her the person who made it probably failed chemistry.

When she breathed in she still felt a sting inside her nose.

Doctor mode made her wonder if her nose was bleeding from the substance, which made her look down for the first time. She wanted to see if there was blood on her shirt, but she felt panic rising when she realized there was no shirt. She was in the blue bra that she put on after her shower. Looking further, she could see and feel her jeans, but could tell that the button and zipper were undone, and the matching blue panties with their little satin bow were showing as the edge of the jeans had been turned over at the waist.

She was balanced on a stool, which at least saved her shoulders from taking the weight of her body in this extended position.

She called out, but nothing. No response. No one else there.

And an overwhelming sense that no one could hear her.

* * *

John was going a little stir crazy waiting on Jennifer to arrive. He was sure he'd heard her right – he was going to grab some dinner for both of them, and they were going to eat and watch a movie in his quarters. He checked in with the medbay and they hadn't seen her since she left when her shift ended a few hours ago. He checked in with Ronon, and he had walked her back to her quarters after their session.

He didn't want to nag her, but he finally called her on her comm only to be met with silence. His instincts told him he should be worried. When he heard Lorne on his comm unit he barked at him.

"What?"

"Sir, sorry to bother you. Need to request you make your way to your office."

"I have something on the schedule, Major. It isn't a good time."

"Understood, sir. Wouldn't have disturbed you, but I think we may have a situation."

"What kind of situation?"

"I have three Marines here who say they have reason to believe that Dr. Keller may be in danger, and want to speak to you."

"On my way."

Then John had an idea, and reached for his comm unit again.

"Rodney, check the Keller thread on the message board. Something's wrong. Meet me in my office."

When he got to his office he saw three very nervous and contrite Marines who didn't want to make eye contact with him.

"OK. What the hell is going on?"

"Sir," one of the said, coming to attention and encouraging the others to do the same, "we have reason to believe that something may have happened to Dr. Keller."

"And what reason would that be?"

"We, well, I. I should only speak for myself. I saw a photo of Doctor Keller that has me concerned that someone has crossed a line and she may be in danger."

John relaxed a little bit. These guys were here to come clean about the shower picture. Maybe they had some sense of right and wrong after all, or maybe it was all self-preservation. But at least he already knew about it.

"Really. Crossed a line, huh? The entire message board crosses a line. I assume you three are all on it?"

The three men nodded slowly and steadied their faces, preparing for the onslaught that was sure to come.

"Those women are your colleagues, your superiors, your protective assignments, your direct reports. How could you think that was ok?"

"It was just a little cutting loose," one said.

"Guy talk," one of them explained.

"It didn't mean anything," the third offered up.

"I've been a guy and in the military for a long time. That isn't how a real man talks about women."

They had no response. If there was one thing you couldn't challenge Colonel John Sheppard on it was that he had been around and he had seen a lot of stuff.

"I need names," Sheppard said once he had let his last words set in. "I want to know who runs the board, and who JACKHAMMER is."

They gave up the board owner pretty quickly. Eric Rodriquez. Probably HOTROD, John thought to himself. They also insisted that they didn't know who JACKHAMMER was.

"It shouldn't have taken someone stalking women in the shower to get you to realize that something was wrong."

They looked at each other, until the bravest of them spoke up.

"It wasn't the shower picture, sir."

"Oh, you just had a change of heart?"

"No, sir. I saw the shower photo. It was the one he posted tonight that got me worried."

Sheppard looked up at Evan, who shook his head showing he had no idea what the man was talking about. And then John saw Rodney in the doorway, anger now dwarfing his revulsion from the night they found the shower pic. John cleared the room.

"Get out. We aren't done. Lorne – confine them to quarters. Take Rodriquez into custody, call Ronon, and meet me with a security team at the brig."

One of the Marines clearly thought that in coming forward he was the hero and that the Colonel's anger was misplaced.

"But we didn't do anything," he insisted.

"No, you didn't. And now you're learning that doing nothing in the face of something you know is wrong has consequences, too."

When the room was clear Sheppard looked at Rodney, who opened the laptop and showed John the latest post without needing to be prodded.

It was a picture of Jennifer. Looking down? Away? Unconscious? He couldn't tell. There was what looked like a small drop of blood below the left side of her nose. Her hair obscured much of her face, but he could see her arms above her head. An unnatural position – you couldn't see bindings in the picture, but she was certainly tied up. With no shirt, just a blue bra, and her jeans unzipped. And a note.

 _JACKHAMMER: Told you I'd have her. Just going to wait until she can fully enjoy it._

"Oh, god." John said, slamming the laptop closed.

"Her tracker is off or malfunctioning, so we can't get a lock on her," Rodney reported. "I could search for the other person, but I still need to know who JACKHAMMER is."

"Let's head to the brig. If Rodriquez is giving people access to the board, then he'll know."

* * *

When the door opened Jennifer was terrified at what would happen next, but then she saw the face of Johnny Nelson.

"Oh thank god," she said, relief washing over her. "Cut me down. We need to get out of here."

"Not so fast, Keller," he said with a disturbing smile. "I went through all the trouble to set up this party and now you want to just leave?"

"You? You set this up?"

Dont be scared, be angry, Jen.

She tried to mask her emotions, but knew she was doing a terrible job. Her disbelief and fear radiated off her, and only made him laugh.

"Didn't even notice me, did you? Not really. But I noticed you," he said, his fingers tracing down her side and his hand coming to rest on her waist.

Jen was in shock. She'd been on missions with him, treated him. How could this be possible?

He lifted a bottle of tequila he was holding in his other hand and took a swig. Clearly from the way his hands were clumsy on Jen's body and the bloodshot in his eyes, he'd been drinking a while. Then he demanded Jennifer do the same. When she refused he closed her nose and tilted her head back waiting for her to need air, and then shoved the bottle in her mouth. She swallowed and coughed and gagged as it went down the wrong way, and he laughed at her obvious misery. Then he poured a little tequila on her shoulder and leaned forward lick it off her.

"Be good, now," he warned her. "It'll be much worse for you if you aren't a good girl."

But she had no intention of being a good girl.

She promised Ronon she would fight.

She put one foot up on the low support rung of the stool she was on, and as he came closer, she pushed up off the rung and jammed her shoulder into his face.

"Bitch!" he yelled, but she didn't stop.

Up on the rung of the stool she could reach the conduit, and grabbing it with both hands she pulled her knees up and got her feet to the top of the stool. Then she put a knee into his nose, blood instantly gushing from his face, and a growl escaping from his mouth. His bloody hands reached for her, grabbing at her arms and neck, but she was unrelenting. She kicked him in the stomach, and when he doubled over, she jumped off the stool with both feet and knocked him over.

As he stumbled and fell his head made contact with the table to the side, and he hit the ground like a ton of bricks.

Jennifer cringed in pain. The last move would surely have taken her over as well if the bindings on her wrists hadn't stopped her, and when they did, she felt something strain in her shoulder.

He was still breathing, though. That much she could tell. And when he came to he was gonna be all kinds of pissed.

* * *

Evan had a hand on Rodriguez's neck and shoulder as he led him into the brig and pushed him towards the chair at the interrogation table. Rodney was there flat against a well to make room for John, who was pacing in the small space.

Rodriguez didn't even wait for someone to ask him about something or accuse him.

"Ask anyone. I was under the influence of an alien substance. Chung can complain all she wants, but you can't hold me responsible for any of that."

John rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"That is a whole other can of worms, HOTROD," John said, with emphasis on his message board alias.

Rodriguez took a minute to decide how to play it. John was giving him the rope to hang himself.

"That message board is private. You can't just invade my privacy like that. I've got rights."

"Dr. Keller is the one who had their privacy violated, moron, not you. Perhaps you missed this in your first six years in the military, but there is no right to privacy here."

"Free speech. First Amendment."

"That isn't free speech, either," John explained.

And just when John's complete lack of patience with Rodriguez acting cagey hit its boiling point, Ronon entered the room with speed and determination. Almost going through the chair where Rodriguez sat, Ronon lifted the man up by the front of his shirt and put him against a wall, the chair toppling as it was disregarded in the motion.

"Fucking coward," Ronon hissed at him, face to face.

Rodriguez tried to look around the big man to Lorne and Sheppard looking for assistance.

"You're just going to let him treat me like that?"

"Tell us who JACKHAMMER is and maybe I'll convince him to move on," Sheppard instructed.

"Oh no – I'm not selling out a marine over a picture of some piece of ass."

Ronon grabbed Rodriguez and reintroduced him to the wall with enough force to knock the wind out of him.

"Wrong answer, HOTROD," Lorne pointed out.

"There isn't anything illegal about the board, and even if there was you can't pin it was me."

Ronon put his hand around Rodriguez's throat.

"I will gut you."

John, Rodney and Evan turned for the door, prepared to leave Rodriguez and Ronon alone to talk it out, but that reality was clearly a dicey proposition for Rodriguez and he knew it.

"Nelson."

Ronon unceremoniously dropped Rodriguez on the floor as Rodney immediately went to his tablet and Sheppard called the security team into the room. He instructed them to secure the prisoner in a cell.

"You got nothing on me," Rodriguez yelled.

"I'll let SGC handle it. You'll be in the Daedalus brig for the next few weeks."

"You're kicking me?"

"It's that or take the risk that I'll tear you apart with my bare hands. Trust me. You're getting off easy."

"Got it," Rodney interjected, providing Nelson's current position to the team.

John reached down and grabbed the comm unit for Rodriguez's ear.

"Lorne, Ronon – let's go."


	10. Chapter 10

Worried that yelling for help would only wake Nelson sooner, Jennifer kept quiet while she leaned on the stool, her hands still bound high above her, waiting for him to move.

She knew John wasn't a patient man. At first if she was late he would just think of ways to rib her about it, but it wouldn't take him long to figure out that something was wrong. If John was looking for her, then Ronon and Lorne were looking for her. And Rodney would help. Where ever she was, it was someplace people didn't usually go, and maybe that would be enough for sensors to find her.

She really needed John to find her.

She thought about John and relaxed just the slightest amount before the slow movement of Nelson's hand on the floor caught her attention. This was it. She watched as his muscles tensed and relaxed -involuntary tests of consciousness. His head turned. Then he must have felt pain, and his hands came to his head and to his nose.

And then he remembered.

Opening up his eyes he glared at Jennifer, who tried to not lose her head.

Stay angry, she told herself.

Fight.

He was up on his feet faster than he should have been, and then swayed and staggered from the tequila and the probable concussion. But it was only a few steps till he was on Jennifer, anger emanating from every part of him.

"You should've been a good girl," he hissed at her, swinging at her face and making a connection with her side of her mouth.

Her head bounced off the wall as his fist made contact, and in the split second it took her to recover from it, his hands were on the waistband of her jeans.

"Bad girls get what they get," he jeered, attempting to push Jen's jeans down over her hips.

She was frantic, but determined to not go quietly. She moved her hips to make it hard for him. She kicked at his knees, caught him once in the groin, and turned as much as she could to block his access.

She tried to head butt him, but he dodged the impact.

When he turned her back around facing front he gave her the most sinister smile.

* * *

Rodney was certain about the location. Nelson was still wearing his communicator, and he was in an unauthorized location with an unidentified person. If that didn't fit what they were looking for, then John didn't know what would. The three men moved at full speed to get to the room. There was no good way in without drawing attention, so they just went with surprise.

They breached the door, and the second there was an opening he could hear screaming and yelling on the other side. The room had a sound dampener. That is the only way he could be standing so close to the door and not have heard it.

Nelson was yelling at her. Taunting and angry.

Jennifer was screaming. Furious and frenetic.

John couldn't tell you how many steps it took to close the distance between the door and the man, but it couldn't have been many. He was on Nelson from behind, ripping his hands off Jennifer and throwing him crashing to an opposite corner of the room. John turned to face the perpetrator, backing up against Jennifer to shield her. Lorne came to join him forming a barrier. Nelson got back to his feet only to feel the fury of Ronon. The blow was full force, and put Nelson's head, neck and shoulders into the corner awkwardly, crumpling him like a ragdoll.

And when Nelson didn't move for two beats of John's heart, he switched his attention to Jennifer.

He turned to her, her breathing rough and the tears now flowing. He grabbed a knife from his belt and reached up, slicing the binding holding her arms to high. He brought them down slowly to lighten her discomfort, and then cut the knots at her wrists to free her. One arm around her to steady her, he quickly unbuttoned his uniform, hastily untucking the long sleeve shirt to pull it off and wrap her in it.

He tried not to see the traces of blood. The hints of bruises. The red hand prints on her body.

He would lose control and that couldn't be what she needed, even though for the life of him he didn't know what the right thing to do was.

She took the shirt thankfully, sliding her arms into the sleeves. She drowned in it, and she pulled it around herself tightly for comfort.

He buried her to his chest, Jen holding herself, and John holding her. He kissed her forehead, not even realizing he was doing it – not realizing until that very moment that since he heard her screaming when the door opened he had stopped breathing and was just now inhaling again.

"Are you ok?" he asked her.

There was no response. Her arms just snaked around his body and she held on for dear life.

"Jen," he said, trying to get a response. He put just the smallest distance between them and looked her in the eye. "Are you ok?"

She nodded. And the tears began to fall again.

And then there was a sharp intake of air, as she yelled his name.

The men were all focused on her, but she was the one who saw Nelson. He went for his knife, and was pulling it out of his BDUs.

He was deadly with that knife. Everyone knew it.

Then a gunshot. And another. John felt Jen's whole body flinch at the sound of each of Lorne's shots.

Nelson fell lifeless to the ground.

Ronon kicked the knife away from the now still body, and put himself between it and Jennifer to block her view. He put a hand on her back to let her know he was there for her, and some words of encouragement. Hope. Closure.

"He's gone, Doc. And you did good. You never stopped fighting."

She acknowledged his words without truly understanding of believing them.

"Let's get you out of here," John said as he guided her slowly to the door.

As he led her out of the room he looked back to Ronon - a look of gratitude, because it was clear that Ronon's lessons had saved Jennifer some terrible things that day.

Then he asked Lorne to call up to the medbay and let them know they were on the way.

* * *

When they made it to the quiet infirmary, Jennifer pulled rank and chose her own exam bed. Out of the way. Secluded. When Dr. Pedersen approached, she tried to break the slight awkwardness with a joke.

"Nice to meet you, I'm bed 3."

John smiled and Pedersen chuckled. John moved to step away, wanting to give Jen the privacy she might need, but she reached and laced her fingers in his, pulling him back.

"Oh, but you are so much more than that, ma'am," Pedersen countered.

"Do tell." Jen responded.

And the rest of the exam was completed interspersed with casual conversation. He examined her wrists, angry with rope burn and abrasions. He cleaned them and wrapped them after confirming range of motion and only surface discomfort.

"Well, you're the CMO, obviously, but more importantly, you are Dr. Jennifer Keller. Five feet, seven inches."

"Seven and a half," she protested.

"My apologies. Five feet, seven and a half inches," he corrected himself. "Light brown hair, hazel eyes, weight –" he looked into her warning eyes, "healthy and no one else's business."

He looked at her lip where it split from the punch, and asked about secondary impacts. He felt her head for bumps or sensitive spots, and asked about the nose bleed.

"Any chance the nose bleed was a secondary effect from cranial trauma?"

Jen shook her head, and reaching up to touch her fingers to her nose, finding only a hint of dried blood.

"Homemade chloroform," she explained.

"Chloroform used to be a big thing on TV. I thought everyone was gonna have chloroform. Not that much of it in real life."

Jen laughed. "That's how I feel about quicksand. People got stuck in it constantly on TV when I was growing up, and to this day I have to this day never seen it."

She was holding her shoulder gingerly, and he asked to take a look. While he compared bone structure and felt for obvious injury, he continued his conversation.

"Also, Colonel Sheppard, our illustrious CMO hails from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin."

"Yes, I've heard that," he said.

"Can you name any famous fictional characters from the same place?" Pedersen leaned into Jennifer and whispered. "Don't help him out. There is at least one I'm betting he knows."

Jennifer was smiling watching John try to figure out the answer.

"Now I know, and knowing is half the battle," she quoted, only to be shushed by Pedersen.

"No hints!" Pedersen protested.

"G.I. Joe," John finally said, as Jennifer golf clapped for him before being told to keep her arms down.

Pedersen rotated her shoulders, identifying where in the motion she was experiencing pain.

"I don't think there is anything structural to the shoulder pain. You'll be off duty tomorrow," he explained, and as she started to protest her repeated it for clarity. "You'll be off duty tomorrow, and then in two days we can do some imaging if a hot shower and some muscle relaxers don't take care of it.

She nodded. He listened to her heart, and took her blood pressure as he continued.

"Annie Hall. She was also from Chippewa Falls," he said while he noted her numbers on the chart. "And maybe the most famous one?" he asked her.

"Jack Dawson from Titanic," she responded.

"No stumping a true Wisconsin girl," Pedersen said to Sheppard.

Then you could feel his voice and tone change, as he looked at Jennifer square.

"Do you have any additional concerns? Discomfort?" She shook her head and he continued. "Do you have any reason to believe you may have been sexually assaulted?"

Jen shook her head.

"Wouldn't take long to do continue the examination privately."

"I'm sure. Really. Thank god John got there when he did."

"Going to have to mark on your chart that you declined."

She nodded.

"And the best Annual State Fair in Wisconsin," he concluded. "Chippewa Falls must be quite the place."

She put her hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Rob."

"You teach us well here, Dr. Keller."


	11. Chapter 11

Still wearing John's shirt, Jennifer made her way to her quarters with John at her side. She leaned into him as he put an arm protectively around her. When they arrived at her quarters she grabbed comfort clothes and headed for the bathroom.

She looked at him with intent, but no words.

"I'll be here when you get out," he assured her.

The minute the door to the bathroom closed he was on his communicator. He had someone bring a sandwich, a bottle of water, a hot chocolate and of course, a brownie, along with a new ear piece to Jennifer's quarters while she was in the shower. It was easy to find people to help. The story was making its way around the city now, and Jennifer was a very well-liked woman.

She looked like a different person when she came out: more relaxed, no more of Nelson's blood on her, in her own clothes. John was relieved at the change.

They sat in her quarters against opposite arms of her couch. She looked so grateful for the food. He made small talk as best he could, but nothing he expected her to remember. He could almost see the adrenaline leave her as her eyes got heavy and the medicine kicked in.

Her yawn in her hot chocolate was the last signal he needed.

"I'm going to let you get some rest." He pulled out the new ear piece and put it on her night stand. "I got you a new one. If you need anything, anything at all. A visit, a joke, more hot chocolate – literally anything, you pick this up and call me. Otherwise you don't put it in. You rest and take care of yourself."

She nodded and looked at him again, with something he couldn't read. Need? Vulnerability? Expectation?

Her voice was little more than a whisper when she made her request.

"Stay?"

His answer was instant.

"Of course," but his voice was so thick with emotion, anger over what she had been through and concern for her, that it cracked when he spoke and sounded nothing like the protector he wanted to be. So he cleared his throat and tried again.

"Of course."

He may have stayed more for himself than her. The events of the day and the muscle relaxer for her shoulder caught up with her and she slept like a stone. He, on the other hand, did not. He laid out on the couch still filled with anger. He drifted to sleep a few times and it was his own bad dreams that woke him with a start. If he had been ten minutes later. If she hadn't been working out or training with Ronon. If Nelson hadn't been drunk and a little off his game.

Terrible possibilities passed through his mind.

It was looking at her face that brought him back. Peaceful. Safe.

But something like that stays with a person, and he had no idea what she needed.

So in the morning he had someone bring a tray of breakfast, and he stayed until she woke up. He gave her a hug and a kiss on the head, and told her to eat and relax. He told her he would check on her.

And he gave her some space.

And it killed him.

He looked for her at lunch, but Lorne said he had dropped by with a tray a little while earlier, and she probably wouldn't make it to the mess. Lorne said she seemed ok.

John was a notoriously decisive guy, but on this one he was stumped. Didn't want to hover, didn't want to crowd, wanted to be attentive, didn't want to pressure.

He saw her at dinner. She made her way to the mess, but never made it to a table. Never even got a tray. He saw her come in, and watched her as she grabbed a few things from the line. She looked for him before she left, and when she found him she just waved with half a smile and headed back to her room.

In the morning, he decided to step up his game. He went to the medbay for her shift, and ran into Marie.

"Good Morning, Colonel," she said kindly. "How can we help you today?"

'Uhhh," he said, scanning the room. "Looking for Dr. Keller. Is she here?"

"No," Marie informed him. "She came by earlier. Dr. Pedersen did some imaging on her shoulder."

"Is she ok?"

"Yeah, doing really well, I think. Just … just needs a little time. She took herself off the schedule for today and tomorrow. Then she thinks things will get back to normal."

John nodded not knowing what else to say.

He had a few actual CO things to do during the morning, and when he got to lunch he decided he would eat and bring her a tray and check on her. Sitting with Teyla, Ronon and Lorne he was distracted.

"I saw Jen this morning," Lorne mentioned, instantly getting John's attention. "She came in for a cup of coffee and I walked her to the medbay."

"How did she seem?"

"You should ask her," Ronon interjected.

"She seemed good. A little subdued for our usually peppy CMO, but all in all good."

"I sat with her for a time last night," Teyla offered. "She still seemed tired, but on the mend."

John was sort of sensing an intervention was happening and he had walked right into it blindly.

"I assume you've seen her, too?" he asked Ronon.

'Yeah," Ronon said. "We went out on the trail this morning. Nothing strenuous, but she needed to get out."

"Am I the only person who hasn't seen her."

"Looks like it," Ronon said. "Why is that?"

"I'm going to stop by after lunch." Then he looked at his tray and away from his friends. "Not sure what to say."

"Reschedule your date," Ronon suggested.

"Ehh. I don't know about that. Not sure this is a great time."

"Did what Nelson did change the way you see her," Teyla asked.

"Of course not. How could you even ask that? Its just – its complicated. He was one of my men. And how do you just ask someone out right after an experience like that - Hey, I know one of my men tried to rape you last night, but why don't we have dinner? Yeah, no."

"Do not make that choice for her. She isn't a child. Ask. Let her decide," Teyla admonished.

"Have you seen that woman yell at me in the medbay? She will tell you what's on her mind," Ronon encouraged him.

They all chuckled at that. Even John smiled. Some of her yelling at Ronon was legendary.

"Heads up, though. She is about twenty feet out and heading this way," Lorne added.

Jen arrived at the table trying very hard to seem normal. She settled, and after quick welcomes and hugs from Teyla, Ronon and Lorne, they took off to give Jen and John some space to talk.

"So how are you?" he asked, giving her his undivided attention.

"Great," she answered too quickly.

"So how are you, really?"

She slowed down and took a deep breath.

"OK. More ok than I thought I would be. I went to see Heitmeyer this morning because I am feeling more ok than I think I should be. Ironic. I know. I'm an overthinker."

"What did Heitmeyer say?"

"That I seemed to remembering and processing the event in a healthy way and at my own pace, and that I should check in again next week and see if there is anything else I want to talk about."

As she started to eat it was impossible to not notice her looking around.

"I feel like everyone knows what happened and that they are all staring at me. I mentioned that to Heitmeyer, too. She said people probably are looking at me a little funny, and that I shouldn't worry about it."

"It will all get back to normal soon enough, Jen."

And then a moment of silence followed by the two of the starting to speak at the same time.

"So I was wondering," she started at the same time that he began an apology.

"Jen, I am so sorry."

"For what, rescuing me. I don't think I ever said a proper thank you, by the way."

"No thanks required," he said.

She started again.

"Since I sorta ruined our first date getting kidnapped, I…"

"Oh, Jen. Don't say that. He was one of mine. If there was any ruining it was on me."

She shook her head not wanting to go down that path.

"Well I was hoping I could make it up to you by…"

"Nothing to make up. You have nothing to make up for."

"John, you are making it really hard to ask you out," she blurted out.

"Oh," he said, surprised. He straightened up a little at the table. He folded his hands in front of him. He smiled. "Then please, continue."

"I was wondering, since our date didn't go as planned the other night," she said with exaggeration taking the apologies and the blaming out of the request, "if you might let me make it up to you. Dinner. Tomorrow. And then maybe something special."

John's eyebrows went high at the something special.

"Keep your mind out of the gutter, Colonel. Not that special."

John laughed as looked at her: the split lip healing, the angry marks on her wrists fading, her eyes bright.

And sure. She looked sure. And if she was, he was, too.

"What? I didn't say anything. You're the one with the mind in the gutter. Movies are special. Walks are special." Then his tone got serious. "I'll just be happy to have the time with you."

"I'll meet you at your place at 1900, but this time, I have a plan for dinner."


	12. Chapter 12

John looked in the mirror one more time. He mussed his hair to give it that 'I don't care what it looks like' look even though he knew he spent entirely too much time on it. He didn't want to settle, because Jen would be there any minute. He didn't want to pace, because he was trying to convince himself he wasn't nervous.

He didn't want to think about waiting for her a few nights ago and how wrong things had gone.

He picked up a t-shirt from the floor he had missed or dropped when he was straightening up earlier, and was grateful for the door chime. When he answered it to the smiling face of Jennifer Keller he couldn't help but smile, too.

She stood there dressed in casual civilian clothes for the evening. Jeans and a green shirt that looked great with her eyes. She had one pack slung over her shoulder, and was holding one down at her side.

"Are you leaving for a mission?" he joked.

"Ha ha ha. Very funny. Sometimes I over pack."

"No need to tell me. I help carry your gear."

"You usually tell someone else to carry my gear."

"I assure that the gear is carried. Rank has its privilege," he explained.

There was a brief lull in the conversation that Jennifer broke.

"You ready?"

"Yeah," he said and followed her into the hallway. "Where to?"

"East tower," she answered. "I have the place all picked out."

"East tower?" he questioned. "There isn't anything over there."

"We'll see."

"Then lead the way."

He reached down and took the pack that she carried at her side, flinging it over his shoulder and loosened the strap in all one motion to right size it for his larger frame. She took the path away from the mess hall, which at this time of day would be bustling with people. It took them about fifteen minutes, and he could tell she knew exactly where she was going.

They reached a staircase which she climbed a little ahead of him. He caught up taking two steps at a time, and when he reached the top, he had a beautiful view of the ocean and the sky. It was a dark night, the moons of Atlantis being dim this time of year. The patio she brought them to had a table and chairs, and she quickly got to work laying out dinner.

Paper plates, bottles of water and the best the mess had to offer for the day, but the atmosphere was much improved from the usual mess decorum. He tried to help set up, but she shooed him away from the table. Instead he made his way to the edge of the area, gripping the railing and looking out over the water.

"Sun will set, soon," he said.

"Yep. Right …there," Jen noted, pointing to a place on the horizon.

The table set, she invited him to take a seat, pulling out his chair and dramatically gesturing for him join her. The sunset gave them a colorful backdrop while they ate and when the ambient light was gone Jennifer produced a standard issue lantern that at a dim setting almost gave the feeling of candlelight.

They talked. They laughed. It came easy for both of them. She was less reserved than he was used to, and he loved it. She was animated telling stories, and laughing asking questions about his Stanford exploits and his run-ins with authority.

When he looked out at the ocean again, she checked her watch.

When he looked back at the table, she pretended she hadn't done it.

They cleared the table, and with the slightest chill hitting the air, he asked her if she was cold. She just smiled and reached into the second bag that had a thermos. She poured them both some hot chocolate to keep their hands from feeling the chill, and relaxed.

And then she checked her watch again.

"Am I boring you?" he asked in a tone that was meant to sound like joke but gave a hint of concern in his voice.

"No, of course not," she answered.

"Are you tired? If you want to call it a night we can pack up…"

"John," she said interrupting his train of thought. "I am exactly where I want to be."

She put her mug and his down on the table, and put out her hand for him to take. When he did she walked them over to the railing. She looked at her watch one more time, but before he could comment on it, she gave him instructions.

"You stand right here," she told him while he stood there face to face with her looking out at the stars.

"Because…"

"Because it's almost time," she answered.

Her watch made a quiet beep, and with that she turned and put her back to his chest, pointing up at the sky.

Within seconds the sky went from dark as night to a painting of shooting streams of color. Blues and pinks and purples filled the sky in every decision. He had never seen anything like it.

"What is that?"

"The Antellia Meteor Shower. The meteors have compounds in them that react to heat, and as they peel off from the body of the cluster and fall into the atmosphere here they turn colors based on size, density and temperature."

"How did you know?"

"An astronomer cut his hand last week and needed some stitches. I kept him talking. This is what he talked about."

"It's beautiful, Jen."

He slid his arms around her body, holding his own wrist around her and keeping her close to him. His chin came down to her shoulder, his breath warm on her ear and her body relaxed against him.

He could stay like this for a very long time.

It was close to forty five minutes before the celestial light show slowed down, and he felt her yawn against him.

"Are you back to work tomorrow."

"Yeah. It's time. 0800 shift. Days for the next two weeks."

"Then let's get you to bed."

* * *

Jen and John made their way along the outside walkway on their route back to the staff quarters. They walked the path looking ahead and down, and occasionally at each other, but paying no attention to the window bay they were passing on their left. Hand in hand.

And on the other side of the mess window, Lorne sat with a few of his men and Ronon were grabbing a snack after a training class.

"Looks like things went ok tonight," Lorne reported to Ronon gesturing with his chin the couple's direction.

Ronon smiled as he saw them, glad to see them both look happy.

"Hey, I got your next bet, Santini," Meyers said. "Will Sheppard and Keller get engaged."

The table laughed, but Santini shook his head.

"Nope. Not taking action on that. I can think of at least four reasons why that is a bad investment."

"So bets with you are investments now," Lorne asked doubtfully.

"Running a book is an investment. Betting on something is just plain old gambling. This is a science to what I do.."

"So what are the four reasons," Lorne asked.

"Well first, it's binary. They will or they won't. That's generally less of a money maker. Second, it has no time horizon. It could happen any time or never. Too long. Third, I feel like people could interfere one way or the other to mess with them, and that would be all kinds of wrong.

"And fourth?" Lorne prodded.

"And fourth – did you see them just now? Sure bet."

* * *

At Jennifer's door John said his goodnight.

"I had a great time. Thank you. For the dinner, and the meteor shower – for all of it. Thank you."

Jennifer beamed under his compliment.

"You're welcome. And I had a great time, too," Jen said, lightly tracing his hand and wrist with her finger tips.

"So we can do it again sometime," John said casually. "I mean, not the meteor shower, but the date. I'd very much like to do this again."

"So would I."

And then John gently took hold of the fingers tracing his hand. He held them in his hand, running his thumb over her knuckles before slowly bringing the hand up to his lips. He watched for her reaction as his lips softly kissed her hand.

"Then we'll call it a date. Mission board picks up again the day after tomorrow. I have an overnight and back on Thursday afternoon. How does Thursday night sound?"

"Thursday night," she confirmed

With her hand still in his he took small step backward and coaxed her to follow. He wanted to give her plenty of space to back away in case he misread her. Then he released her and brought one hand up to the side of her face. His fingers started at her cheek and danced their way around her neck into her hair, his thumb right at her earlobe, and held her there as he brought his lips to hers.

He had deliberated all day. Kiss her? Don't kiss her? Invite her in? Invite himself in? How fast? How far? Like he was twenty again. No. At twenty he always kissed, and always invited himself in. In some ways that's how he wound up married, and divorced, so young. He got used to losing himself in the chemistry and thought that could cover for the other stuff that wasn't there.

But Jennifer, she was the whole package, and it made him respect and revere the kiss in a way he hadn't in a long time, if ever.

And if he was being honest, he couldn't remember the last time he went on a date that meant anything to him at all.

He felt her hands come to his waste, fingers sliding under the untucked oxford and t-shirt he wore and dance a pattern on his sides as he deepened the kiss. It was filled with wonder and expectation and need.

A soft moan escaped from her, and he brought the other hand to the other side of her face while the first gathered up her hair and wrapped it leisurely around his fingers.

She went up on her tip toes, nudging him a little higher, and then he felt her hand on his chest with the slightest amount of pressure as she went back to flat feet and broke the connection. He looked at her for a vector, a sign. He didn't want to push – too much at stake to get it wrong.

Her eyes fluttered open, her lips swollen and her face flush. No words.

And then a smile that could light up a sky.

Discipline and self-control were the pillars of his military career. He could imagine both of them crumbling in a heartbeat to be closer to her, have more of her.

But he would wait.

He put his forehead down to hers. Then he kissed her temple and pulled her close.

"So Thursday night?" he asked in a whisper.

"Yeah, or tomorrow if, you know, you have time."

John could make the time. He leaned down for one more brief kiss.

"Tomorrow it is."

 _FINIS_

 _Thanks everyone. Learned a lot about writing John doing this one._ _Way fun._ _Appreciate everyone who took the time to read._ _Would love it if you would leave a review when you finish it up, and hope you come back for a John fix if you need one._


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